6.3Best practices & pitfalls
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Golden rule: healthy selling rests on few rules, always applied: target, listen, prove, lock.
- Do: maintained ICP, 30 s and follow-ups, file and 24-h report, 70% listening, value before price, living CRM.
- Never do: spray without targeting, pitch before discovering, drop the price without value, sign then vanish.
Younes thread — 1 year on: three habits that pay
One year on, Younes takes stock: what counted most was not talent but three habits — systematic D+3/D+7/D+14 follow-ups, 70% listening with SONCAS ×3, and the sub-24-h report with a dated next step. And his biggest pitfall narrowly avoided: pitching before discovering during a rush month.
Pick a single habit to anchor in your ritual, then move to the next.
The trust contract
Healthy selling rests on few rules, always applied. Here they are, with their inverses to ban.
✓ Do
- Written ICP, 200 qualified, maintained file.
- 30 s + permission + 2 slots; 40 chars + 120 words + 3 follow-ups.
- 20-min file, proposed agenda, 24-h report.
- 70% listening, SONCAS ×3, early taboos.
- 3 SONCASed FABs + proof; value → price → silence.
- Full LACE, A/B choice, control callback.
- Dig, scope not price, systematic counterpart.
- 3 numbers + BATNA, traded variables, named tactics.
- Everything in CRM at once, 3x pipeline reviewed weekly.
- 90-day onboarding, peak referrals asked, maintained reviews.
✗ Never do
- "Everyone", rotten bases, never-cleaned file.
- Monologue, bricks, 1 shot then give up.
- No file, endured agenda, no writing.
- Pitch before discovery, 1 why, deciders last.
- 15 features, no proof, dropped price + discount.
- Plea, single verdict, close without callback.
- Reflex discount, price only, giving in under pressure.
- No floor, price only, accepted nibbling.
- Sticky notes, 50 fields, graveyard pipeline.
- Sign then vanish, wait for spontaneous, 2021 reviews.
Ready-to-say script — check your week before the review (30 s)
"ICP current? 30 s and follow-ups done? File and 24-h report? 70% listening and taboos asked? Price defended with no discount? If one no, I fix it before the review."
Copy-paste template — monthly self-diagnosis (10 questions)
THIS MONTH (yes / to improve):
1. Targeting: written ICP, maintained file, cleaned bases?
2. Opening: 30 s + permission + 2 slots, 3 follow-ups?
3. Meeting: 20-min file, agenda, 24-h report?
4. Discovery: 70% listening, SONCAS ×3, early taboos?
5. Proof: 3 FABs + proof, value → price → silence?
6. Closing: LACE, A/B choice, control callback?
7. Objections: scope not price, systematic counterpart?
8. Negotiation: 3 numbers + BATNA, named tactics?
9. Steering: CRM at once, 3x pipeline reviewed weekly?
10. Follow-up: 90-day onboarding, referrals, maintained reviews?
MY PRIORITY NEXT MONTH (only one): ...Small business / tight budget
One habit per quarter suffices: the sub-24-h report first, the rest after.
Algeria SME
Adapt rituals to peaks and travel: one daily follow-up slot kept beats an annual campaign.
Remote / hybrid
The #1 remote discipline: everything in writing without delay (report, dated next step), no untraced oral promise.
Cross-cultural
Check the locally accepted follow-up rhythm and closing style instead of assuming your reflexes apply everywhere.
48h challenge — apply tomorrow
Fill the monthly self-diagnosis above on your sales and pick a single priority to anchor in your ritual.
- I know the 10 reflexes to do and the 10 pitfalls to avoid.
- I have filled the self-diagnosis and picked a priority.
- I did the 48h challenge or scheduled its date.
Before his review, Younes checks his month. Which reflex best protects his sales?
Pin the red-thread project criteria on the wall: targeted, listened, proven, locked.